Apple Now Number One Mobile Brand In Australia

The Apple brand continues to surge when it comes to mobile devices despite the growing competition. According to a new report from IDC, the first quarter 2011 results show that Apple has become the number one mobile brand in Australia for the very first time. The market there has mainly been dominated by Nokia, but this year the Symbian platform has seen a huge tumble along with a dip in demand for feature phones.

Apple comes in first place in Australia's smartphone market with 40% market share after an almost 10% increase quarter over quarter. Android comes in second place with nearly 30% of the market while Nokia has plunged to third place with 22% of the market.

Nokia's partnership with Microsoft to transition to the Windows Phone platform along with a major decrease in feature phone shipments has delivered a huge blow for the company. Feature phone demands have dropped tremendously with a 79% majority of new mobile phone shipments being smartphones while the Symbian platform has seen a 9.5% loss in market share quarter over quarter.

IDC predicts that Apple will likely see a dip in Q3 as buyers hold out for the next-gen iPhone set to appear in Q4. Android will see strong growth with a wide range of new flagship smartphone launches throughout Q2 and Q3, while price cuts on Android devices will likely happen in Q4 to compete against the new iPhone.

The report, however, doesn't take into account whether Nokia's newly unveiled N9 MeeGo phone and the "Sea Ray" Windows Phone would have any affect on numbers should they appear sometime in Q4 this year.